Guwahati: Allegations of massive anomalies have come to light within the Assam Forest Department concerning the regularization of Muster Roll, Work Charged, and Casual workers.
Sources said the alleged scam could eclipse even the infamous APSC recruitment scandal, which reportedly involves the creation of a vast number of fake documents to benefit ineligible candidates, much to the detriment of those with legitimate claims.
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The issue traces back to a series of 64 Writ Petitions filed between 2004 and 2013 at the Gauhati High Court by one Upen Das and 836 other similarly situated workers. These petitioners sought the regularization of their services across various departments of the Assam government, along with associated benefits like pensions.
Initially, in a significant order dated December 20, 2013, a Single Judge of the High Court directed the Assam Government to formulate a policy for the one-time regularization of employees who had completed over ten years of service, citing an exception within the Supreme Court’s Uma Devi judgment.
However, this directive was challenged by the Assam Government, leading to Writ Appeal 45 of 2014. A division Bench of the Gauhati High Court subsequently overturned the Single Judge’s order on June 8, 2017, stating that the aforementioned categories of workers were not entitled to regularization and consequential benefits.
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Despite denying regularization, the Division Bench provided some relief by instructing the Assam Government not to terminate employees working since August 1, 2007, except in cases of disciplinary action or criminal offences. The government was also directed to include these employees in Health and Accidental and Death Insurance Schemes and to pay them the minimum of the pay scale, effective from August 1, 2017.
It is alleged that this very judgment inadvertently created an opportunity for unscrupulous elements within the Assam Forest Department.
Sources indicate that the department, which employed over a thousand Muster Roll and Work Charged workers across its numerous Forest Divisions, implemented a verification process requiring eligible workers to submit crucial documents.
These included HSLC Certificates for age verification, Engagement Certificates signed by the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) with official docketing notes, supporting Cash Vouchers, and corresponding Cash Book entries.
Disturbingly, allegations have emerged of widespread collusion between Assam Forest Department officials at various levels and external individuals to forge these essential documents. Fake School Certificates, Engagement Certificates, Cash Vouchers, and Cash Book entries were allegedly fabricated to favor ineligible candidates, reportedly involving the exchange of crores of rupees.
In several Forest Divisions, Engagement Certificates were allegedly issued post-facto with incorrect dates and inconsistent signatures compared to the actual employees. Shockingly, in some instances, Range Officers and Beat Officers purportedly signed these critical certificates instead of the authorized DFOs, and these documents were often not officially recorded in the Forest Division’s Issue Register.
Furthermore, discrepancies have been found between the produced Cash Vouchers and the official Cash Registers, with allegations of forged signatures on the vouchers.
The most significant alleged fraud revolves around the HSLC Certificates, intended to verify the candidates’ authentic dates of birth. Instead of official certificates from the Secondary Education Board of Assam (SEBA), numerous applicants allegedly submitted certificates bearing only the signature of a school headmaster.
In one particularly alarming instance within a single Forest Division, 60 out of 61 applicants reportedly submitted such non-standard certificates from the same school with the same headmaster’s signature.
Faced with these irregularities, the government constituted a three-member committee headed by Dr. Sonali Ghosh, Director of Kaziranga National Park, to scrutinize the applications received from the divisional level.
However, sources reveal that this committee faced intense pressure from a retired IFS officer with strong political connections in Dispur to expedite the process without thorough verification.
The list of candidates forwarded by this initial committee, allegedly without proper due diligence, was then processed by the Environment & Forest Department and sent for approval to the Minister for Environment & Forests and the Assam Chief Minister.
It was at this juncture that complaints from genuine candidates in several Forest Divisions, notably Hailakhandi and Barpeta, reached the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).
Responding to these complaints, the Chief Minister’s Office returned the recommended list and ordered a re-verification. Subsequently, a second three-member committee was formed, this time under the chairmanship of Dr. Satyendra Singh, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (P.C.C.F.).
In a surprising move, this second committee reportedly decided to limit its scrutiny to only about 490 candidates out of the over 1,000 names forwarded by the Forest Divisions to the P.C.C.F. & Head of Forest Force (H.o.F.F.).
Even for these 490 candidates, the committee allegedly relied on proforma affidavits submitted by the DFOs, who vouched for the authenticity of the documents, rather than conducting independent verification.
Sources said this unfolding situation represents a scam of immense proportions, potentially exceeding the scale of the APSC recruitment scandal.
They express disbelief at the level of organized fraud allegedly perpetrated within a government department in recent times.
Sources further said that a thorough investigation by the Vigilance & Anti-corruption Department is urgently needed to identify the culprits and ensure justice for the genuine candidates who have been allegedly sidelined by this fraudulent activity.
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